A/N- Hey guys. What you need to know for this chapter is it takes place (As does the whole story, should have told you earlier) not too long after episode 2:14 "It Should Have Been Lorelai".
Day 4
Lorelai walked into the bustling diner at Seven-thirty the next morning. She and Rory didn't often have time to eat at Luke's before Rory caught her bus in the morning, so they decided to get up early and go out. It took her a moment to navigate her way through the crowded tables to the only empty one in the back corner before plopping down and grabbing a menu, although she already knew what was on it.
A moment later Rory came into the diner. She looked around for a moment before spotting her mother in the corner and going over to sit next to her.
"Geez. It's like the carnival is in town or something," Rory commented as she slipped off her coat.
"Look around, Rory. This is something you and I rarely have a chance to see. We've heard about it, but have never actually experienced it," Lorelai said, scanning the diner.
"What are you talking about?" Rory asked, following her Mother's gaze.
"Morning people," she clarified. "I had doubts that they existed, but as you can see, they're real, and abundant." Rory nodded exaggeratedly, playing along.
"I didn't think it was possible. I've been told that people get up and out before eight, but I just never believed it." Lorelai shrugged.
"Well, I will never look at the world the same way again. So, how's my darling spawn this morning?" She asked, changing the topic.
"I'm okay. Friday night dinner is tonight, though," she said. Lorelai cringed.
"Uck. Way to bring down the mood before breakfast. I need sustenance before you lay that on me, remember?" Rory flashed her mother an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I'll get us some coffee," she said, standing up and heading to the counter where Luke was busy writing down a patron's order.
"Hey Rory, I'll be with you in a second," he said, nodding his hello and turning back to Gypsy who was placing her order. Rory just smiled and waited until he had turned his attention to her.
"What can I get you?" he asked after a moment.
"Two coffees and two orders of blueberry pancakes and eggs with sausages," she said with a smile. Luke wrote down the order and gave it to Caesar before grabbing two mugs and filling them up.
"You sure you don't want some orange juice or something? Something to start your day of healthily?" he asked. Rory grinned.
"I'm not up for oj this morning, but Mom might be. Why don't you ask her?" she suggested with a gleam in her eye. Luke chuckled.
"Just go sit down and wait for your pancakes," he said. Rory chuckled and grabbed the coffees, navigating her way back to the table.
"Did he try to wrangle you into having something healthy?" Lorelai asked, accepting the coffee. Rory laughed.
"Luke would never do that. He's perfectly accepting of our eating habits."
"Yes, just like we're accepting of his," Lorelai joked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"So what's the plan for today?" Rory asked. Lorelai shrugged.
"Hop on the space shuttle and go off to the moon to cure some obscure flesh eating disease that you can only get after spending extensive amounts of time watching Hello Dolly over and over again?" She suggested.
"Or…"
"Or we have the Spirit Committee coming in for their event today, and my goal is to hide in my office to keep Taylor out of my way." Rory nodded.
"That's always a good plan."
"So what do you have going on today?" Lorelai asked.
"You know, Paris, Madeline and Louise planning my murder; fighting off the plethora of girls who hate me because I'm dating Tristan; a calculus test with Ms. Lewis; Saving the world…"
"So basically the norm?"
"Basically, yes."
"So I'll meet you here at four?" Rory shook her head.
"I have a meeting with Headmaster Charleston about the debate next week. He wants to know exactly how Paris and I plan to defend the use of uniforms in schools."
"Sounds exciting. So when do you think you'll be home?"
"Hopefully it won't take too long. I'm assuming we'll be done by four-thirty, and Tristan is going to drive me home. I should be back by five."
"Okay, well, five is too late to meet here, so I'll just see you at home." Rory nodded.
"Although we're going to have to stop for coffee on the way. I can't go all night without Luke's coffee." As Rory said this, Luke came up to the table and gave them their plates.
"You should try to kick the habit cold-turkey," he suggested. Rory raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, we pay you for it. Shouldn't you be more grateful for our addiction?" Luke sighed.
"I would be if I didn't know I was slowly killing both of you."
"Your concern is duly noted, although you forget one thing: We don't run without coffee. If you didn't supply us we would shut down and die, and that, my friend, would be all on you!" Lorelai joked. Luke rolled his eyes.
"I don't know why I bother." She shrugged.
"Neither do we, but it wouldn't be the same if you didn't."
"The coffee wouldn't be as satisfying," Rory said.
"The eggs wouldn't be as sausagy," Lorelai added.
"The pancakes wouldn't be as fattening," Rory continued. Lorelai smiled up at him.
"And we would all live far less fulfilling lives." Luke just shook his head.
"I've got customers to serve," he said, backing away from the table. Lorelai and Rory just looked at each other with grins, never ceasing to be terribly amused at the way they could drive Luke crazy in a matter of seconds. It was a talent.
It was five-to-seven when Lorelai and Rory pulled into the elder-Gilmore's driveway. The two of them downed their coffee from Luke's as fast as possible before heading up to the door.
"Do I look okay?" Rory asked, flattening down her skirt.
"They wouldn't notice if you wore a pair of 'juicy' pants and a shirt with a design of two cigarettes going at it. All they'd notice is your pretty pretty face," Lorelai answered with a grin. Rory rolled her eyes and was about to respond when a maid opened the door.
"Hey there," Lorelai greeted. The maid smiled and took their coats.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore are waiting for you in the living room," she told them before walking away. Lorelai and Rory walked into the living room, stopping short at the door.
"Uhh…" Lorelai said, stammering.
"Lorelai, Rory, so wonderful to see you," Emily greeted, coming over to meet them.
"Uh, hi, Grandma," Rory greeted, still a little confused. Emily pulled her into the room and sat her down on the couch.
"Well don't just stand there, Lorelai. Come join us," Emily demanded. Lorelai just continued to look for a moment in shock before following them to the chairs and taking a seat next to Rory.
"Hey, Lor," said the man in the chair across from them.
"Chris," Lorelai greeted, still very confused. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Lorelai, that's no way to greet our guest," Emily scolded.
"Oh, sorry," she said, still looking at Chris surprised. Rory felt compelled to jump in.
"Dad. Hi," she greeted. Chris smiled warmly at her.
"Hey, Ror. How have you been?" he asked. Rory shrugged.
"Pretty good. We didn't know you were going to be here," she said, excusing her mothers tongue-tiedness.
"Yea, well, I was in town on business and ran into Richard. He invited me over for dinner," Chris explained.
"So what business were you doing here in Hartford, Christopher?" Emily asked in her best 'hostess' tone.
"My company is thinking of expanding into the area. They sent me out because I know the area and some people in it." Emily smiled widely and nodded.
"So you're going to be around here more often?" Chris shrugged.
"Well, we still haven't finalized anything, but there's a good chance of it."
"Well, I think that's wonderful Christopher. We need more hard-working businessmen around here," Richard said, speaking for the first time since the younger Gilmore's had arrived.
"Well, now that we've all said hello, would anybody like something to drink?" Emily asked, standing and looking around.
"I'll have a Martini," Lorelai jumped in quickly.
"That sounds good, I'll have one too," Chris said after a moment.
"I'll have a coke if you've got one, Grandma," Rory asked with a smile. Richard stood up.
"I'll help you dear. You kids talk, catch up," he suggested. He and Emily headed out of the room to the bar while Rory, Chris, and Lorelai sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Soo…" Chris started.
"I didn't know you were in town," Lorelai said quickly. Chris nodded.
"Yea, I meant to call you, it's just been really busy." Rory smiled.
"So how long are you here?"
"Only until tomorrow, unfortunately. I've got to get back to Boston."
"Yes, you do," Lorelai said, feeling very uneasy. Chris raised an eyebrow.
"So how have things been with you, Lor?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Very well, thanks," she said, not entirely sure why his very presence was annoying her.
"The inn's been good?" She nodded.
"It's great."
"And…" he said, realizing there wasn't much left for him to ask about.
"And what?" she asked, almost daring him to ask about her love life. He shrugged.
"Everything's good?"
"Everything's good," she confirmed. Rory had looked between the two of them during the exchange, noting the discomfort. Finally Emily and Richard came back in with the drinks.
After friendly conversation for about half an hour, between everyone except Lorelai, the five made their way into the dining room for dinner.
About halfway through dinner Lorelai excused herself to go to the bathroom, needing a moment to herself away from Chris to gather her thoughts. Their last encounter hadn't been a happy one. She recalled the day when she told him that she was finally able to let go of her feelings for him and move on, and the way he exploded at her, as though she had insulted him. She had known after that day that she didn't want anything to do with him, and now she was thrown into a situation with him and was entirely unhappy about it.
She stood in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning against the door frame, collecting her thoughts, when suddenly they were interrupted.
"Can we talk, Lor?" Chris asked, coming up and leaning against the wall outside of the bathroom. She looked up at him, annoyed and angered.
"You shouldn't be here, Chris," she said in a low tone. He sighed.
"I thought we were past all that, Lor," he said softly. She rolled her eyes.
"You expect me to just get past you springing that woman on me and Rory, and then getting mad at me for, heaven forbid, feeling happy that I was finally over it?" Chris looked down at the floor and then back up to Lorelai.
"Sherry's gone. She left a few weeks ago," he said softly. She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry," she told him. He rolled his eyes.
"Yea, I know you were such a fan of the whole thing."
"It doesn't matter what I think," she said. He shook his head.
"It shouldn't." She looked at him curiously. "But it does. To me, anyways."
"Why?" her voice was barely a whisper. He shrugged.
"Because I still love you," he said simply. Lorelai sighed deeply and walked past him to her old bedroom which was across the hallway. "What are you thinking, Lor?" She shook her head.
"I'm thinking you should leave." Her simple conviction surprised him.
"Why?" it took her a moment to respond. For reasons she wasn't sure about, at this moment, her thoughts turned to Luke. She couldn't hold back the small smile that formed on her lips when she thought about the way he was, only with her.
"Because I don't love you," she answered. Chris looked her.
"Oh, Lor. You don't mean that…"
"No, I do, Chris. I do," she said quickly, cutting him off. "I waited for a really long time for you to get your act together and come back to Rory and me, but after the last time you came over, I decided just to be through with it. And I am now. I'm through with it. I'm done. I don't love you, or even like you that much right now, to be honest." Chris looked taken aback.
"Why are you saying this?" he asked, not believing a word of it.
"Because it's true, Chris. And you know what, even if it wasn't true, it wouldn't matter, because it needs to be true. When I see my future and who I have that perfect family with, that whole package, I don't see you in the picture."
"Then who do you see?" he asked, feeling a little angered that she wasn't jumping into his arms as she usually would. She smiled lightly.
"Someone special," she said softly. She looked straight at him. "But not you." With that she brushed past him out of the room and headed back to the dining room to finish the dinner. After a few moments Chris went back to the dining room and politely excused himself and left.
It wasn't until Rory and Lorelai were halfway home that Rory spoke up about the nights events.
"What happened between you and Dad tonight?" she asked softly. Lorelai sighed.
"He said he was in love with me," she answered simply. Rory looked at her surprised.
"Well, what did you say?" she asked, not really sure what to expect.
"I said I didn't love him. I told him that I had that perfect family picture in my head, and he wasn't a part of it anymore." Rory bit her lip, oddly relieved by this new information.
"So who is a part of it?" she asked after a moment. Lorelai shook her head.
"It's stupid," she said, waving off the question.
"No, seriously. Who is it?"
"It's really dumb," Lorelai said, laughing lightly, glad her daughter didn't seem upset about the events with Christopher.
"Is it Kirk?" she asked. Lorelai looked at her with a shocked expression.
"Kirk?!"
"Well, you never can know what goes on in your mind, Mom," she said with a grin, knowing already who the lucky man was. Lorelai just laughed and shook her head.
"Not Kirk, sorry. I know you really wanted to call him Daddy too." Rory laughed.
"So Luke, huh?" she said after a moment. Lorelai just smiled, and Rory knew it was true. "You should do something about it."
"Like what? Serenade him with a selection of tunes made especially for lumberjacks?" Rory laughed lightly.
"Just tell him how you feel. Everyone knows he feels the same." Lorelai nodded, knowing she was right.
"I'm sorry it's not your Dad, kid," she said after a moment. Rory shrugged.
"He doesn't need to be your 'whole package' in order to be my Dad. Just as long as you're happy," Rory said. Lorelai smiled.
"You're pretty great, you know that?" She asked. Rory nodded.
"I know. I got that memo."
With that the two rode home with a comfortable conversation flowing between them, both happy about the revelations made, and exciting about the new possibilities of the Lorelai/Luke future pairing.
Rory just hoped her mother didn't wait too long to make her move.
So, a little bit of a snag, but that's okay. I just love to see Chris get beaten down, and I love to write it… It brings a smile to my face and warm fuzzy feeling to my stomach. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know